"Paris was named by the inhabitants in acknowledgement
of the kindness of Isaac Paris, a merchant of Fort Plain, who supplied them
with corn on a liberal credit during the year of scarcity, 1789, and finally
received his pay in such produce as they were able to supply. It was
formed from Whitestown, April 10, 1792. Brookfield, Hamilton and a part
of Cazenovia, (Madison Co.,) Sherburne, (Chenango Co.,) and Sangerfield, were
taken off in 1795, and Kirkland in 1827. In 1839 a part of Kirkland
wa annexed. it lies on the east border in the south-east corner of the
County. Its surface is a hilly upland, broken by thevalley of Sauquoit Creek. ...(The creek) flows north through
the town, east of the center, affording many valuable mill sites which have
been improved. It is said that one of the early settlers started at
the junction of this stream with the Mohawk in search of a site for a saw
mill, but did not succeed in finding sufficient fall until he arrived at
Cassville.East Sauquoit, and West Sauquoit, (Sauquoit p.o.) are
contiguous villages, on opposite sides of the Creek, and contain two churches,
viz: Methodist and Presbyterian, an academy, a hotel, a saloon, two
cotton factories, two paper mills, three stores, one public hall and a Masonic
and Good Templar's Hall, two blacksmith shops, two wagon shops and harness
makers, and about 700 inhabitants. The Academy, under the charge of Prof.
White, is in a flourishing condition, and is worthy of the patronage it receives.
The Utica, Chenango and Susquehanna Valley R. R. passes through the village
on the west side of the creek.Clayville (p. v.), named in honor of Hon. Henry Clay,
is situated on Sauquoit Creek, about ten miles south of Utica, and is a station
on the Utica, Chenango and Susquehanna Valley R. R. It contains
four churches, viz., Presbyterian, Methodist, Episcopal and Roman Catholic;
tow hotels, five dry goods and grocery stores, a drug store, two meat markets,
a grist mill, a cheese box factory, and various other mills and manufactories.
The Empire Wollen company has fourteen sets of machinery, a capital of $125,000
and uses 450,000 pounds of wool, making 150,000 yards of fancy cassimeres
annually. The mill is run by water and steam power, and employs 225
hands. ...The population of the village is about 1,200.Holman City is situated about a mile east of Clayville,
contains a cupola furnace employing about a dozen hands, and manufactories
of wagon boxes and skeins, horse hay forks, &c.Cassville, (p.v.) situated near the south border, contains
a church, several mills and manufactories, and about 300 inhabitants.Paris Hill, in the west part of the town, contains a
church and about thirty dwellings.The first settlement was made in March, 1789, by Captain
Rice, at Paris Hill. Benjamin Barnes, Sr. and Jr., John Humaston,
Stephen Barrett, Aaron Adams and Abel Simmons, settled in the same neighborhood
soon after. In 1791, Kirkland Griffin, Capt. Abner Bacon, Deacon Simeon
Coe, Spencer Briggs, Baxter Gage, Josiah Hull, Nathan Robinson, Enos Pratt
and a Mr. Root, settled in the vicinity of Sauquoit. Phineas Kellogg,
John and Sylvester Butler, Asa Shepherd and Mrs. Plumb and two children, were
other early settlers.The first death in the town was that of William Swan,
in 1790. Abner Bacon kept the first inn, and James Orton the first
store, in 1802. The first church (Congregational) was formed in 1791,
by Rev. Jonathan Edwards; Rev. Eliphalet Steele was the first pastor,
and continued in that relation until his death, in1817. Mr. Steele was considered very sound and orthodox
in his sentiments, and was a man of great plainness of speech, which sometimes
savored of bluntness.In the early part of the present century a young minister,
was arraigned by the 'Oneida Association,' for preaching unsound doctrine.
On reading the sermon it was pronounced orthodox, though somewhat obscurely
worded. Mr. Steele admonished the young man to be more careful in
the use of language and ended by saying: 'Aye, young man, you do not
know more than half as much as I do, and I do not know more than half as
much as I think I do.'Kirkland Griffin, whose name has been mentioned among
the early settlers, was an active and efficient aider of the patriot cause
during the Revolution. He shipped on board one of the earliest privateers,
was captured and imprisoned in the 'Mill Prison', England. For two
years and five months he suffered thehorrors
of that den of filth, upon the very verge of starvation. After his
release he shipped on board the Bonhomme Richard, under Paul Jones, and was
in the bloody engagement with the Serapis, which resulted in a victory of
the Stars and Stripes. The British Captain, on learning that the crew
of the Richard comprised many of the recent inmates of the Mill Prison, said:
'Now I know why I am conquerered; without those prisoners you never could
have obtained the victory;' rightly judging that victory or death would be
the watch-word of those who had endured the barbarities of the Mill Prison.The population in 1865 wa 3,595, and its area 18,551
acres. (Town of Paris Directory)